What is on the menu this week?

[Maryanne]

I went to Maine this weekend and brought home great fish and local produce. Last night was seared tuna with tomato chutney, roasted carrots and Liamsaunt's smashed potatoes. Tonight a simple chowder with pulverized thick bacon, fresh corn, a little bit of hot pepper from our garden, and haddock.

[canucknyc]

Canucknyc, would you please post the recipe for your Chicken stew with roasted garlic? That sounds like something I'd like to eat this weekend!

Sure thing! (I think I got this from Simply Recipes)

1 whole head garlic
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 chicken thighs + 4 drumsticks
3 or 4 medium red onions
32 ounce whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 bay leaves
A pinch of chili powder
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 Tbsp old-fashioned whole seed Dijon mustard

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic head on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic head with the foil and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until the flesh of the cloves is light brown and feels very soft when pressed with the tip of a knife. Set aside to cool.

3 While the garlic is roasting, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven on medium high heat. Rinse the chicken pieces in cold water then pat dry with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Brown the chicken pieces, starting them skin-side down, cooking them a few minutes on each side, working in batches.

4 While the chicken is browning, peel and quarter the onions. Remove chicken from pan when nicely golden and set aside on a plate. Discard any fat and oil beyond about 1 Tbsp left in the pan. Put the onions in the pot and cook them until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.

5 Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and ground chili powder to the pot. Put the chicken pieces on top of the tomatoes. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes, stirring from time to time so that the vegetables don't stick.

6 After the garlic has cooled enough to handle, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the cloves into a small bowl and crush with a fork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to serve with the chicken stew.

7 When the chicken has cooked, add the mustard to the pot and stir to blend. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to cling to the meat. Remove bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve stew over pasta, with the garlic paste on the side.

[cass]

Tonight it is simply spaghetti, garden salad, rolls and tea, nothing fancy. Sometime this week, I will make a chicken pot pie. It's so dang cold here, I can't think of anything except hot soup for the other days!

[pjayer]

Funny you should start this thread, because I actually wrote down this week's menu last week at my new job. I worked two whole days, then my boss took a week off. So, I sort of sat around wondering what I was supposed to be doing. Menu planning seemed like a logical choice, and I supplemented that with a lot of VIOL lurking.

Here's what I came up with. Baked chicken breasts with Gorgonzola, BBQ pork tenderloin in the crock pot, meatloaf with smashed taters and peas, and chili with cornbread. I even made a list, went the the store Saturday, and what happened tonight? We visited the local Mexican dive. But I had good intentions and tomorrow's a new day.

[mbw1024]

Ha Pam .. funny! I need to have a general plan or our week goes haywire and we eat junk on the go! Not good.

[sailorgirl]

Made a turkey breast yesterday with the trimings, had some leftovers tonight. Hubby is stopping by my Mom's tommorrow to perform some handyman work for her so I'm sure she will send him home with some good Mom cooking, Im working late so it will catcher catch can. That leaves Thursday, assuming I'm right about Mom's care package. I'll proabaly make some soup with the turkey bones. Friday is date night.

[alw1977]

We usually do meals that last two nights to save time. This week:

1. Spicy Vegetarian Lasanga (w/ my homemade sauce)
2. Spicy Chicken Soup with Egg Noodles
3. Tofu and Veggie Stir-fry with Red Curry and Jasmine Rice

[Lulu76]

I'm trying really hard to not eat fast food because I'm just about to get too fat for my pants. That's why I made supper for the next three nights.

Of course, I might be eating sweet potatoes forever, because I completely underestimated how much I made!

[pipanale]

it takes about 454 min.

I know that's nothing but a typo, but all I could think of was the scene in Christmas Vacation when the turkey...bursts?

"I knew I put it in too early"
"Look...I found the heart"

[jayseadee]

Not a lot of cooking this week; ok, not a lot of cooking in general during the week at our house.

Tonight was dinner out with the girls (Don worked late); tomorrow is leftover fettucine with clam sauce and Wednesday is leftover sausage, peppers, onions, potatoes and mushrooms.

Thursday is anyone's guess and Friday is our usual dinner out at our favorite local Italian place.

After that, it's Cafe Roma, Lime Inn, Morgan's Mango, La Tapa, Beach Bar etc. for me and who knows what for Don.

I guess that doesn't help you much

[mbw1024]

After that, it's Cafe Roma, Lime Inn, Morgan's Mango, La Tapa, Beach Bar etc. for me and who knows what for Don.

I guess that doesn't help you much

JEALOUS! have a great time! you still looking for JW Blue?

[Laura T]

I am travelling all week, so hubby is on his own...and helpless when it comes to dinners.

So, I made a big pan of spinach, mushroom and chicken lasagna with Alfredo sauce on Sunday, so he would have plenty for the week. It is a great recipe. Sitting in my hotel, I wish I had some...

I will be home for dinner Friday and we will likely do something easy...a couple of steaks, potatoes and salad.

Saturday night, we will probably have fish. We have a great fish market open Saturday mornings... perhaps some halibut, asparagus, cauliflower soup. Not 100% sure yet. I love to bake bread, so mayabe some homemade rolls?

Great post...you got me thinking about planning the weekend dinner!

[brenda]

I've been trying to do a bit of cooking on the weekend to get us through the week. My husband and I both work 11:00-7:30, only problem is that it is on opposite ends of the clock .

This weekend was spaghetti and meatballs, tacos (hard or soft) with beans and rice, and I cooked a pork butt in the slow cooker and make home made BBQ sauce. I also did some of the pulled pork in a tortilla wrap with feta cheese, cucumber sour cream dip, lettuce and tomatoes. I already feel like I am running out of ideas as I've already made alot of comfort food staples the past few weeks. Looking forward to hearing more ideas.

[jayseadee]

JEALOUS! have a great time! you still looking for JW Blue?

Yes - and I have your list of places to check. Wish me luck!

[California Girl]

Ok X, and anyone else who wants a really yummy, really different, really easy chicken enchilada recipe. I serve these for company all the time and I'm always getting requests to make them again and again. Serve these enchiladas with some authentic refried beans, Spanish rice and a green salad and you'll be in food nirvana!


White Chicken Enchiladas

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – cooked & shredded
1 doz. corn tortillas
1 pt. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 green onions, chopped
1 four-oz. can chopped Ortega chilies
garlic powder (as much or as little as you want)
Shredded cheese (the recipe calls for cheddar, but I prefer the Mexican blend of 3 or 4 cheeses)

Fry tortillas in about 1/2” of oil, and take them out while they’re still soft, not crispy. (You need to be able to roll them up.) Stack them between paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Mix together: Sour cream, soup, green onions, chopped chilies, & garlic powder. Spoon half of the sour cream mixture into a 2nd bowl, add the shredded chicken and stir.

Spray a 13” x 9” pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Put a healthy spoonful of the chicken mixture on a tortilla, sprinkle on a little cheese and roll it up. Place it open side down in the pan and repeat until you have 12 enchiladas. Spread the balance of the sour cream mixture (the bowl with no chicken) over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle liberally with cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 - 25 minutes.

YUMMMMM!